To Slay a Tyrant
by Vesuvan Smiffee
Summary: Captured behind enemy lines, and sent to interrogation. Temari's last hope in completing her mission and getting out alive lies with a mercenary. But how can she put her trust in the same man who's heading her interrogation? AU. Eventual HakuxTema.


Hello my friend(s)! Vesuvan Smiffee (who?) here with another delicious crack pairing!  
I apologize if the chapter seems a little "boring", this will pretty be a lot of description, and mostly talking.  
But, hey, you get a few people dying.  
As always, I DO NOT own the characters from Naruto. And please read, enjoy, and than (hopefully!) review.

* * *

Chapter One

"All warfare is based upon deception"

-Sun-Tzu

* * *

The forest was strangely silent. No one could explain why, but it seemed that the thick, dark, pine trees seemed to simply absorb any and all noise. Even the armed patrols that marched through the forest on a daily basis seemed to simply melt away in the shadows of the large trees.

The thick growth of the canopy, and the thick growths on the trunks of the trees, simply blocked most light from hitting the forest floor. Small pools of silver light from the moon above (though barely visible) collected on the forest floor.

The silence was broken by the sound of marching feet and the sounds of tires squealing against asphalt. Three trucks, flanked by a guard of about a dozen soldiers of the Takigakure Revolutionary Forces, trundled down the main road through the Takosian forest. The massive six-wheeled trucks headlights cast pools of light, through the windows in the cab of the front most truck; Revolutionary Officer Haedrial could see the ghostly silhouettes of the marching soldiers. Their long trench coats and spiked helmets were colored a coal black, garbed in royal blue everywhere else, the TRF escort looked practically invisible in the darkness of the forest.

'How much longer until we reach Colonel Wei's staging area?' He asked, lazily taking a slow drag from a cigarette held loosely in his left hand. Haedrial was simply slumped in the passenger seat, one arm hung out the open window, the smoke from the cigarette made his drivers eye's water a little. 'We are currently two kilometers from Colonel Wei's staging area, Herr Lieutenant.' The driver was a pudgy fellow, whose dark blue undershirt seemed to barely fit him. Haedrail rolled his eyes and stole a glimpse outside. He took another slow drag from the cigarette.

Haedrail heard the sound of a pair of combat boots running up to his truck from, in front? No, the sound was coming from behind. Haedrail order the driver to slow down so as to allow Sergeant Marcarius time to catch up to the truck. Macarius stepped onto the small step underneath Haedrail's door. 'Miss me Sergeant?' Haedrail asked, making Macarius's pale face flush. 'Uh no H-Herr Lieutenant, I-I thought you needed me.' The man stammered out, his nervousness made Haedrail chuckle as he looked directly into Macarius's eyes. 'Of course I need you Sergeant, why else do you think you're here? I'm sure we could arrange a… "Communications review" if you'd like." Haedrail gave a small grin when he saw Macarius's eye's widen a little. God, how Haedrail simply wanted to order the truck to stop, step out, and fuck the Sergeant then and there. Of course, that sort of fear was what made Macarius attractive to Haedrail.

'I'd like that a good deal Lieutenant… when?' Macarius asked, his mind clearly wondering what it would feel like after so long without the feeling of having Haedrail's manhood inside of him.

Haedrail was about to shoot back another flirtatious reply, though the radio, embedded in the dashboard, crackled to life with someone's phlegmatic voice. 'Supply caravan Alpha, this is Base plate. Come in Alpha.' Haedrail scrambled to grab it, his right hand shooting out to press the reply stud on the radio console. 'This is Lieutenant Haedrail speaking Base plate, what do you need?' Haedrail asked, looking to Macarius and giving him a seductive look.

The radio-operator babbled something about alternative routes, which made Haedrail's stomach turn. How dare they ask him to turn this entire bunch of trucks around! Did they think he had spent thirteen hours sitting on his ass, having erotic dreams of people, only to waste another thirteen hours going back? Macarius tapped on Haedrail's arm, making the Lieutenant shoot Macarius a look. _Something up ahead_, _possible obstruction, stop the trucks._ Macarius signed in the TRF battle-code. Haedrail gave a slow nod and ordered the driver to bring the large truck to a halt.

* * *

Beyond the illumination provided by the truck's headlights, several eyes peered back at the TRF soldiers and trucks. A lone figure, hidden in the branches of a large pine that was twenty meters ahead of where the trucks had stopped, tapped the small com-bead attached to his ghillie suit. 'Rebel's coming down the main road, 'bout four of them. Entire convoy's stopped, their approaching the trap.' The figure rattled off crisply, even as he reached down and pulled up a large sniper rifle, balancing the large gun on a thick branch. 'Confirmed Dawson, twenty seconds, than we hit the bastards hard-and-fast.' Came the reply, though Dawson knew that the Captain would tell him that very command. Sighing, Dawson looked through the sniper scope, towards the lead man, counting down from twenty… nineteen… eighteen…

* * *

People's Sergeant Jergius Macarius motioned for the rest of his squad to follow him. He had glimpsed something in the middle of the road, which had prompted him to stop the entire convoy. Now he just prayed he was correct, because Haedrail could be very unforgiving when it came to wasting his precious time. The resulting imagery only made the Sergeant grip his combat shotgun even harder. 'Macarius to squad, fan out. Five meter spread.' He whispered into the radio attached to his uniform, the three silent figures behind him hastening to follow their Sergeant's orders.

Macarius saw a large, dark, lump in the middle of the road, and hurried forward to inspect it. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it almost looked like a body… swathed in some kind of fabric. The wrapping was so tight that Macarius was forced to bring out his knife to cut away the strands. He almost dropped his knife in surprise by what he found, a skeleton, whose empty eye sockets leered back at Macarius. The Sergeant tried to probe around inside the rib cage to see what might be inside, but he heard the dull _cling_ of a pin being pulled out of something. 'Grenade, get do-', was all Sergeant Macarius would be able to get out.

The fragmentation grenade ripped him to shreds, and blew shrapnel into the three soldiers standing around him. As the other grenades the squadron was carrying blew up, the air became full of whistling, jagged pieces of metal.

* * *

Haedrail was too astounded for words, in an instant, Macarius, his lover, his partner for almost eight months, disappeared in the explosion. Howling in rage and loss, Haedrail grabbed his Tokavian Carbine and jumped out of the truck. He could hear the voice of the panicked driver asking him what the hell he was doing. Haedrail screamed like a wounded animal as he rushed forward, he was going to find the bastards that had stolen his partner from him, and he was going to tear them into fucking shreds!

He was killed instantly; a bullet entered through his forehead and came out the back of his head. Lieutenant Haedrail's twitching body moved by itself out of sheer momentum, his headless body took three steps forward and fell to the ground.

In seconds, figures on both sides of the trucks were firing, the muzzle flashes hidden because of the stubby silencers screwed onto their guns. The TRF soldiers on both flanks were killed within seconds, riddled with small arms fire. Next came the drivers, who tried to get the trucks moving, but only succeeded in being ripped apart by snipers hidden in the trees.

It took a minute and a half, from when the booby trap was triggered, to when the last shot was fired, for the entire TRF supply convoy to be eliminated. The TRF lost twelve soldiers, two officers, and three drivers. The ambushers suffered no losses.

* * *

Figures began to creep out from between the trees; all of them wore the hourglass symbols of Sunagakure on the front of their uniforms. Dressed in the dark greens and blacks of the surrounding trees, it looked like a group of wraiths walked out of the surrounding tree line. Unceremoniously, the Sunan raiders began to drag away the TRF corpses, hiding them so that a casual inspection of the area would not turn up anything.

Dawson opened the door to one of the trucks, and immediately swore. The driver, whose body had been sliced in two by the bullet fire, fell out of his seat. Worse, most of the gore had landed on his feet. 'Well, nice going their Daws, really good sniper you are.' Dawson spun around to find himself staring at a bear of a man. Carrying a Sunan Model-101 Heavy Machine Gun by himself, Dawson couldn't help but point at the mess at his feet. 'You'd be whining too if you had to deal with a mess like this, Houf. Not like you would know, since I always open the doors for your triple-size ass.' Private Houf gave a toothy grin; the dark camouflage painting seemed to make his white teeth almost sparkle a bit in the dark.

'Keep it quiet you two. This is supposed to be a quiet operation. And I stress the word _quiet_.' A new voice said, which made both Dawson and Houf gave a crisp salute to the new figure that stalked over to them. In contrast with Houf's chocolate and Dawson's gray, this new figure had green eyes that looked like Emeralds in the darkness. Even though the figure was less muscular than both Houf and Dawson, neither of them would ever think of trying to overthrow their commanding officer. Captain Temari no Subako glared at both the men dangerously. The only difference between the uniforms was that Temari's had two small, metal hourglass symbols on the corners of her shirts collar.

Dawson and Houf both snapped to crisp attention. Temari made a face after she saw the blood and gore at Dawson's feet. 'Clean that up Dawson, have Houf help you. Make it quick though! I want to get moving in ninety seconds, understood?' Temari snapped, turning away and stalking off further down the line of trucks. 'You think the rumors 'bout Tem is true Daws?' Houf asked, making Dawson shrug his shoulders as the wiry sharpshooter put on a pair of rubber gloves. 'Probably, that family was always fucking weird. Here, help me get this stiff into the bushes over there.'

Temari was barking orders left and right, her agitation and annoyance could be felt a mile away. Normally she wouldn't be like this, but Temari was too annoyed to give a damn about what anyone thought of her at the moment. The poor bastards under her command were just unlucky. Temari sighed as she watched a pair of her raiders struggle pushing a crate full of munitions into the back of one of the trucks. Was she being unfair? Probably, but Temari had never been one to be a happy-go-lucky type. On the other hand, it was really her own fault for being this agitated. Even thinking about what returning to Suna would be like, Temari gritted her teeth. It hadn't been her fault that Kankuro had opened his damn mouth like that! Gaara, normally the one that kept Kankuro on a leash, hadn't even bothered to stop the argument. Temari shook her head, no she _had_ been right, Kankuro had overreacted. And even though she tried to keep her mind preoccupied, Temari found her thoughts wandering back to the events of a dinner that had taken place only a few days before…

* * *

On the outside, the mansion that the sand siblings lived in was the textbook example of peaceful. With a large wrought iron gate, a grand and lavish garden, and various rock gardens, fountains, ponds, the mansion looked like a palace. Normally, the dinner the three siblings ate had always been a risky affair. Kankuro's apparent joy at annoying Temari seemed to be at its height during mealtimes, and this dinner was no exception.

'So I hear that Taki's on the war path.' Kankuro said conversationally, his chocolate brown eyes had a mischievous gleam to them, he seemed to be acting as if he was about to tell a secret joke that no one else could know but his brother and sister. 'We don't know yet Kankuro, the pictures have yet to be verified.' Gaara said he gave his older brother a look. Even if he was younger than both Temari and Kankuro, Gaara had quickly established that he wouldn't be pushed around.

'Verified my ass, what else could those crazy-ass weirdo's be doin'? If they aren't preparing for war, they sure as hell are making it look that way.' Kankuro said, frowning a little as he poked at the food that lay in front of him on his plate. 'What are these again Tem?' He asked his older sister. Temari rolled her eyes in annoyance, she had explained it to Kankuro what he was eating twice before, but neither time had he been listening. Typical. 'It's called a Goulash Kankuro.' Temari said, refilling her glass with the bottle of Merlot at the table.

'And what in the fuck is a Goulash, Tem? You know how I am with all this female cooky-stuff.' Kankuro said, mispronouncing Goulash on purpose, knowing that it would annoy his sister to no end. 'Think of like a stew, _Kanky_. And I wonder how much you know about that makeup we women use.' Temari said, smirking a little at how Kankuro's cheeks began to redden beneath his purple face-paint. Temari was impressed, by the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists, Kankuro was holding in his rage pretty well. Relatively speaking of course. He still owed money for fixing the three plates he broke. Kankuro swept the black hood he always wore at mealtime; the black cloth fell away, revealing Kankuro's brown hair. Without prior knowledge, nobody would have guessed that Kankuro, Temari, or Gaara were related.

'It's called fucking war paint! And since when in the hell did you know a thing about make up? I thought you hated stuff like that, _Tem_.' Kankuro said, smirking a little at the use of his sister's pet name. And it was true; Temari had always hated wearing make up, or jewelry for that matter. Temari's rationale had always been that she was the most beautiful woman ever to grace this world, in Suna or anywhere else. So why would she need to enhance her beauty with fake products? 'I do, but now I know who spends all of their paycheck on it.' Kankuro started to reply, but it was cut off by the sound of the large, gilded doors to the dining room slamming open.

Gaara stood up, as two men rushed in, one who was dressed in the red and blacks of the mansion's security force, the other man was far older, and could've easily been Gaara's father. Dressed in a black dress shirt, with a peaked cap bearing a pewter Sunan hourglass symbol, the man's black combat boots clicked quickly against the hardwood floor. 'Lord Gaara, my apologies, I tried to tell the General you were busy and not to be disturbed, but he told me it was urgent.' The guard said hurriedly, throwing a quick salute, which Gaara returned. Gaara turned to look at General Sardeon Macrius. 'What is the news General?' Gaara asked, Macrius had an angered look to his face, as if he had just received the worst news in the world.

'This is the news, your Lordship, we received it only a few minutes ago.' Marcius said, extending a wrinkled hand forward, a letter with the symbol of Takigakure poked out. Gaara reached out and took it, opening it. His eyes scanned the first few letters before returning his attention back towards Marcius. 'So they finally did it, did they?' Marcius nodded, his gray eyes glittered in barely controlled rage. 'So it would appear your Lordship.' Gaara sighed as he sat down in his seat, looking at the letter again. 'What does Tsunade have to say about this?' Marcius shrugged, 'Konoha believes that we have provoked Takigakure to this point. They refuse to take sides this early on in the conflict. To help maintain a sense of fairness.' Marcius snorted at the last sentence, Gaara made a face.

'Thank you General, eve if this bad news, it is news all the same. I assume we have taken the necessary measures to prepare?' Gaara asked, Marcius nodded his head, 'is that all your Lordship?' Another nod, Marcius saluted once, and marched out of the room. The guard bowed as he withdrew from the room, shutting the doors quietly as he left. 'What does it say Gaara?' Kankuro asked, reaching over to grab the letter, Gaara hled it away as he got up out of his chair at the table. 'No.' Kankuro's cheeks began to have a tint of red to them again. 'Damnit Gaara, let me see what that old Goat gave to you!' Kankuro roared, lunging forward, Gaara sidestepped the move, and Kankuro landed in a heap on the floor. 'No.' Gaara repeated again, making his way over to the doors. 'I am going to the War Room. I'll be needed there. You'll find out everything soon enough.' Gaara said as the door opened, Kankuro opened his mouth to say something, but the door shut before he could get anything out.

Temari knew what Gaara had gotten: the declaration of war from Takigakure.

* * *

'Ma'am, are you there? We're almost at the main gate.' Temari's reverie was broken, hearing the sound of Marksmen Dawson's voice. Blinking her eyes quickly, Temari nodded her head numbly, as if she had just woken from a bad dream. 'Yes… thank you Daws, I'll handle the guards.' Temari pulled on one of the spiked helmets and trench coats, slipping on the black leather gloves that the TRF's officer corps was so fond of. In a minute, Temari saw the entrance to the staging ground of the Takigakure Revolutionary Forces.

The gate was a large affair, easily twenty meters tall, twenty meters wide, it was an imposing affair, and the arrowhead symbol of Takigakure had been crudely cut, and in some places, it looked like the symbol had a drill taken to it. A long, thick wall, twelve meters high was linked to the gate, two guard posts sat on either side of the gates entrance. Square and blocky, the gatehouses looked like bricks that had been set up to rest near the gate. The truck pulled up to the gate, and the gatekeeper on Temari's side gave a lazy, slow salute. 'Evening, Sir.' The guard said, lowering his salute slowly.

'I want this gate open Soldier, I have supplies for the Colonel, and I am not to be impeded.' Temari snapped in her best imitation of (what she thought) a TRF officer might sound like. The soldier gave a sort of look as the rest of the convoy came to a shuddering halt. 'I don't remember there being any trucks coming through with supplies.' He said, Temari could almost picture the wheels in the dull guards brain cycling and processing the information in front of him. 'This is delivering vital weapons and munitions to the most elite units of the TRF, it wouldn't be a very good idea to be broadcasting that information everywhere, now would it?' Temari asked, making the guard frown a little. 'I s'pose not…' The guard began; Temari cut him off with a gesture. 'Than stop standing there like a blithering moron, and _open the damn gate_.' Temari growled, giving the guard an admonitory glance as he began to object. Wordlessly, the guard merely nodded and reached inside the gatehouse.

The gate began to open inwards, the pulleys and other devices squealing a little at the strain suddenly put upon them. 'Go right on in Sir, go to loading dock 4A, the Quartermaster will be waiting for you.' The guard babbled out, though he was drowned out by the squeal of tires against asphalt as the trucks drove past. In a few seconds, the gate slammed itself shut.

Dawson found himself driving the lead truck down a paved, well-maintained road. On either side buildings were tightly packed together, with signs and banners hanging from their windows and porches proclaiming whatever business was within a certain building. Iron lamp poles, spaced every twenty meters on the cement sidewalk, cast pools of light beneath them. From every building, a light blazed from every window and under every doorway. In neat, marching formations, TRF soldiers and officers marched on the sidewalk, the clomping of boots and barking of their officers the only sign of their otherwise mute passing. 'Bloody hell, this isn't a military camp, it's a damn city.' Dawson swore to himself, who had looked up to see that the tallest of the buildings went up five stories, and that on top of the smaller buildings, were more buildings. Which gave the entire place a ramshackle, halfway put together affair. 'Didn't you study the maps? There's enough housing and recreation for forty thousand soldiers. Our estimates say that three times that amount are here right now. Wei needs all the room he can get.' Temari said, her eyes flickering from building to building. 'Shit, really? Wei can't have that many though, can he?' Dawson asked, Temari did not respond.

Despite the crowded feeling, the roads were wide enough to accommodate at least three lanes of traffic. At intersections would be traffic lights, designed to help ease the pain on the already heavily wounded infrastructure of the staging grounds. Temari noticed that the streets had perfect right angles for every turn. It was as if someone had designed this place with the preparation of a war in mind.

After a few more series of turns, and time spent at traffic lights, waiting while other trucks sped by, tanks rumbled past on their treads, and various other vehicles passed before their eyes. 'There's the loading station.' Temari said, pointing to a series of low, flat-roofed buildings, where a series of trucks were unloading their cargo. Lights shone from the buildings, and as Dawson backed the truck up to the nearest available bay, Temari saw a group of TRF personnel make their way over. 'I'll handle this.' She whispered to Dawson, and she swung the door out, and stepped down from the truck, to greet the group of a dozen or so officers. 'Can I help you?' Temari asked diplomatically, even though she couldn't hear what the knot of people were saying she judged that they were angry, or at least annoyed. But, with the air being so full of the sounds of machines and men, there was no way to tell.

'As a matter of fact Lieutenant… Haedrail, you can help me with a simple… complication to the normal running of this place.' A voice said smoothly, and the group parted as to allow Temari a clear view of the speaker. He was male, with a black peaked hat, and wearing the signature black trench coat and combat pants of a TRF officer. The man's face was a pale white, and his skin seemed tight on his face, as if it had been forced to stretch when he was born. The man gave a fake smile, and Temari thought she heard the skin squeaking softly. 'I am Logistics Officer Vo, at your service, and I must ask why you need to see Colonel Wei. If it is about a report… than I assure you, I can deliver it to him for you.' Vo said, making Temari wonder how anyone could actually stand being around him. Only a few seconds she had to deal with him, and she already disliked the man. Well, Temari was able to play the talking game as well as any other officer, she fixed her own fake smile, 'Colonel Wei has demanded that I bring to him a personal report of what transpired en route to this place. And he wanted it the instant I could get to him, so if you don't mind, I'll go and find him.' Temari said as she brushed past Vo. Based on the photographs she had studied, Temari knew that Colonel Wei's command center was a large, looming tower in the center of this city. These loading docks were only a thousand meters northeast of the command center.

'Now hold on a minute Lieutenant, the Colonel is in a meeting, with strict orders to not be disturbed, you can just simply go barging in like that! Lieutenant!' Vo yelled, though he merely got a wave in response. Vo swore, how dare that upstart of an officer defy his orders! Vo's eyes, which had a rich golden to them, narrowed in anger and annoyance. 'Is she allowed to do that?' One of the soldiers that had witnessed the altercation asked a person standing next to him. A mere shrug was his response. Vo swore to himself again, the Colonel would not be happy if his meeting was walked in on. Than again… the Colonel would also be unhappy if the report was not delivered. Vo's mind began to piece together a plan that should, hopefully, allow for him to not only humiliate this Lieutenant, and improve his standing in the Colonel's eyes. 'You three, secure the trucks, you four, round up all of those who came in on those trucks, and take them to the holding cells!' He barked orders at his surronding aides, who scrambled to obey. 'Why are we taking them to the holding cells, sir?' One of the aides asked, earning a withering glare from Vo as he walked off. 'Because I don't trust anyone who would follow someone like Lieutenant Haedrail.' Vo replied, he could be seen running after Haedrail (Temari) in the distance, but after a heavy forklift trundled past, carrying a stack of artillery shells on its metal tines, only a sea of people remained. The two figures absorbed into it.

* * *

Colonel Wei sighed to himself as he looked out from one of his office's windows to look out over his staging grounds. 'Is it not an amazing feat, that so many loyal revolutionaries, were so quickly mustered to counter-act the counter-revolution that the fascists will no doubt have tried to ignite?' Colonel Julies Hectarion Wei was a heavily built and impressive looking man. He wore a ceremonial red and gold uniform, his chestnut hair was cut exactly to the new revolutionary crew cut style, and a pair of glasses rested firmly on his face. Wei walked over to his desk and poured himself a small cup of tea, savoring the aroma before sipping it gently. 'You must try this tea, my friend, it is Lavender flavored.' Wei said with a small smile, his teeth were arranged in perfect lines behind cherry red lips. A gloved hand reached down to take the secret tea cup, after a short pause, Wei looked to his bodyguard, expectation written on his face. 'It has an interesting flavor, Colonel.' Wei's bodyguard said, the voice, though it was males, was soft and feminine. Stille, Wei had learned that voice betrayed a level of competence, and cunning brutality that he had seldom seen matched.

Not that Wei's bodyguard was a revolutionary soldier; he was in fact, a mercenary, hired by Wei to serve the dual purpose of guardian and personal attack dog. And in both respects, he did his job remarkably well. Dressed in the dark blues and blacks of the Kirigakure Hunter corps, Wei had been surprised by the amount of loyalty his new 'tool' (a term that his guard used to describe the reason behind his loyalty) possessed to him. 'I had it specially prepared, just for you, Kijin.' Wei said, chuckling a little at the use of the pet name. His guard frowned, seating himself on one of the chairs that lay across the room. Stiff and high-backed, the chairs had been designed to be uncomfortable so anyone sitting in them would have to sit up straight and look at Wei. 'Colonel, I would prefer you did not use that term. That title belongs to a man far greater than me, and even you. I respectfully request that you use my real name, and not hide my identity behind such titles.' Wei sighed as he turned his attention to gazing back out the window, staring at his reflection momentarily before nodding his head slowly. 'As you wish, Haku. Though who knows what might happen should someone discover that you had worked for us in the past.' Haku gave a small shrug as he sat up and strode over next to Wei.

'I worked as a contract assassin for fifteen years before I came here to work for you, Colonel. You don't need to protect me.' Haku said, looking at Wei, who gave a short laugh in response. 'Well said my dear Haku, well said. Shall I show you the latest developments in the Revolution?' Wei asked, his hand hovering a control pad installed onto his desk. Haku gave a small shrug, and Wei began to tap in commands furiously. After a few seconds, a holographic representation of Takigakure appeared over the desk, while metal shutters began to automatically cycle over the windows. There was a few seconds of darkness, which the only light came from the sickly green of the holograph, but it was replaced when the fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling came on, their white light accompanied by their constant, low humming.

Moving around the holograph like a master performer about to show off his newest trick, Wei smiled as he tapped another commonand onto the control pad. 'As you know, the main thrust of the Revolution will be into Suna's lightly guarded, Dang-Ye river delta region.' Wei tapped an area of the map, and it magnified by ten, to show the contours of the river, and the vast snaking waters of the delta. Red dots and lines showed the estimated positions of the Sunan military, while blue dots and lines showed the positions that Revolutionary forces were going to occupy when the invasion started. Wei went back to the original holograph and pointed to another region. 'While other forces will be moving into the Sunan-Taki mountain range. This should allow us to bypass the main force at Ja-Seng and strike at the unprotected flanks of the fascist bea-' Wei was cut off as the door to his office slammed open, an embarrassed looking aide rushed in, followed by a Lieutenant, and a Logistics Officer. The holograph disappeared as the main lights came back on, and the shutters cycled back, allowing an unfettered view of the surrounding area once more.

* * *

Wei sat behind his desk as he nodded for Haku to sit in a couch near the far corner of the room, closer to the door. 'My apologies Colonel for the interruption, but Lieutenant Haedrail demands to speak with you. While Logistics Officer Vo and myself tried to stop her, but she insisted.' The aide babbled out, his dark skin slick with his own perspiration. 'Wei nodded as he thought to himself. Reaching into one of his uniform's pockets, he withdrew a cigar and a lighter. 'Leave us, I want to speak with the good Lieutenant in private.' Wei said, lighting the cigar and sticking it in his mouth. 'But Colonel, we have reason to believe that the reliability of the Lieutenant's story is in question!' Vo yelled, the aide also began to add his voice to the argument. Wei rolled his eyes as he reached down and put his three-fifty-seven caliber magnum on his desk with a _thump_. The sound of the revolver hitting the wood instantly made everyone's mouth close. Vo and the aide left the room, wordlessly, Vo throwing a glare the Lieutenant's way. 'That includes you as well.' Wei said to Haku, who had kept the door open, as the other had filed out. Haku nodded as he shut the door behind him.

Wei motioned for Haedrail to sit as he blew out a small column of smoke. 'My apologies Lieutenant, Vo can be… a stickler for protocol sometimes. And my aides are always fearful that an assassin will try to kill me.' He said conversationally, taking out another cigar and offering it to Haedrail, 'I don't smoke.' Haedrail said simply, Wei shrugged and laid it on the desk. 'So, you wanted to report to me directly Lieutenant. Here I am, there you stand, so, what did you need to report?' Wei asked, sitting back a little further in his chair.

Temari hadn't believed her luck that Wei had dismissed all of his help, and had left them alone together in his office. Than of course, he had to ask what the report was about. 'The entire route was outine… for the most part.' Wei raised an eyebrow. Tapping his cigar on an ashtray, he looked up. 'What does "for the most part" mean in this context, Lieutenant?' Wei inquired, sticking the cigar back in his mouth. 'My escort was killed in an ambush.' Wei's eyes, which had been lazily looking about the room, snapped back to focus on Haedrail. 'They were partisans, the rest of my column escaped unharmed for the most part. Only those on the sides, unprotected by the trucks metal, were killed.' Wei's body seemed to relax a little at the news. 'I see.' He said simply, pushing his chair and going back to the window.

'In only a few short days, the Fascists will try to stop the people from choosing their own leaders, they have already tried to sponsor several attempts on my life, but no longer. I believe it is time to send a clear message to Sunagakure, wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant?' Wei asked, turning around, Haedrail gave a nod. 'I do agree, but how do we send this message, Colonel? Suna is notorious for not following the commands others give to them.' Wei gave a small chuckle as he picked up his Magnum revolver. 'Suna is led by an oligarchy. The same family has controlled it for almost three generations. The newest "Kazekage", is known as "Gaara". Somehow, the youngest member of the family now controls one of the most powerful nations on this continent.' Wei growled a little, taking the cigar out and putting it in the ashtray. 'I digress however. The Kazekage happens to have an older brother and an older sister. Gaara has one weakness: his family. If we were to somehow able to capture one of the other two siblings, Gaara would follow our commands like a puppet on a string.' Wei said, a smirk forming on his face. Haedrail frowned as he thought about the implications of what Wei was saying.

'That will be no easy task. Gaara would have thought of this already.' Haedrail said, making Wei give a small cry of delight. Shaking his head, Wei walked over to admire a painting that hung on one of his office's walls. 'He has, but, he has thought of it too late! You see my dear Lieutenant, Temari, the oldest of the Sand siblings has walked straight into our hands. Would you like to know where she is right now, Lieutenant?' Wei asked, his smirk becoming a bit wider. His entire face made it seem like he knew the secrets that everyone else could only just guess to know. Temari's hand began to slowly reach for her holstered sidearm. The Type 14 Nambu pistol had a silencer attached to it already (a precaution that Temari was glad she had taken), the nine-millimeter bullets would be enough to pierce the body armor that Wei would most likely be wearing. Still, she couldn't make a move without getting shot herself. 'Where is Temari than, Colonel?' Haedrail asked, as Wei sighed and pulled out another cigar.

'Captain Temari is standing about three meters in front of me, wearing the uniform of one of my officers. Since Lieutenant Haedrail always takes a cigar when I offer him one. And Lieutenant Haedrail is male.' Temari guiltily shrugged her shoulders. 'You can't fool them all I suppose.' She said, and before Wei was able to fire the Magnum, Temari had her Nambu up and firing. Two bullets smashed into Wei's ribcage, shattering the fourth and sixth rib. Falling back against the wall in shock, Wei had a small line of blood coming from his mouth. 'Oh.' Wei said quietly to himself, and he felt blood began to seep out of him, and onto the rich flooring.

Temari ran for the door, which had already started to open. Damn, the officers on the other side must have been trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. Temari reached the door and slammed it open, grinning a little with the sound of someone's nose breaking. She saw why. Temari had stepped into the anteroom, and the aide that had been with Officer Vo now lay in a crumpled heap behind the door, blood streaming from his nose. Vo had been making his way over to the door when it had slammed open, and now he was nose to nose with Temari. In the heat of the moment, Temari head butted Vo, making him fall back, groaning and clutching at his temple. The other one, dressed in the blues and blacks had been knocked over, and from what Temari could tell, was unconscious.

She ran quickly, locking the anteroom door behind her as she emerged into a well-lit hallway. Taking off the trench coat and helmet, since they would only impede her movement, Temari picked a direction and ran. She could hear the sounds of running feet against the hardwood.

* * *

'After that Fascists Suki! After her!' Wei bawled as he slumped against the doorframe of his office. The trio of soldiers that had pried open the anteroom nodded and marched off, splitting to go down the various winding hallways. 'Haku, I want you to lead the search! Lock down this base, and ensure that bitch doesn't escape from our grasp!' Wei yelled, Haku looked up from Logstics Officer Vo. 'As you wish Colonel. Dead, or alive?' Haku asked, pulling out a small syringe and handing it to Vo, who merely grimaced as he accepted the morphine. 'I want her alive, but if she tries to escape, kill the damn bitch, do you understand?' Wei barked as Haku made way for a TRF Medic.

'As you wish Colonel.' Haku said softly, and he walked away, the growing knot of onlookers parting so as to let him slip past. Wei swore to himself. He would make Subako no Temari pay, oh; he would make her pay very dearly.

* * *

Temari looked through the keyhole of the room she was hiding in. The patrol had six TRF soldiers, five grunts, and one officer. She was surprised that they hadn't released any dogs yet, but then again, how would a dog be able to find a single person's scent among all the others that had walked through the base? 'You three, check corridor Alpha-seven! You two, with me!' The officer bawled, while the group split up. They had gone in opposite directions, away from her. She opened the door cautiously, and let it close noiselessly. 'Houf, Dawson, come in. The mission's gone FUBAR.' Temari said into her radio. The only reply was the crackle of static. 'Dawson! Houf, come in, over!' Again, the reply was only static. Temari swore to herself as she turned the radio off. They were probably out of range, or she was surrounded by too much interference for the signal to get out. Either way, Temari would have to find a way out on her own.

'Those idiots didn't even check this hallway. They'll never find me if that's the best they can do.' Temari said to herself, smirking a little at the ego stroking. She in another corridor, this one appeared to be less used. The flooring was carpet, not hardwood like in the other parts of the command center, and the lights flickered constantly. 'Never going to find me.' Temari said to herself again as she rounded a corner.

She spoke too soon.

Temari barely saw the fist coming, and she barely even knew what had happened until her head exploded in pain. She hit the floor, her vision beginning to narrow. 'Or you were already found.' A feminine voice said Temari saw that her pistol had fallen out of her grip and now lay about a meter in front of her. She reached a hand out for it, but a boot came crashing down on her hand. 'My apologies, but I'm not letting you have your gun back so easily.' The voice said again, and Temari felt a hand reach down and pluck her radio off of her. Temari heard other feet, and could see three more pairs of boots arrive. 'Is this the one that shot the Colonel?' A new voice asked, this one was high-pitched and had a whiny tone to it. 'I say we shoot her in return!' Another voice said, there was a rumble of assent. 'The Colonel wants her alive. She is a valuable prisoner. But you will have vengeance. She is to be taken to the interrogation wing. Along with her friends.' Temari could hear other sounds, words most likely, but she refused to listen. Her vision went black and Temari fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

I want to emphasize, how much reviews help in focusing my writing.

So! review, it only takes a few seconds, you can be anonymous (if you want), and it helps me become a better writer! A win-win scenario for all!

-V. Smiffee


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